


they would be as in love with you as i am

by neenswrites



Series: red rings [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magical Realism, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Mutual Pining, Realization, Werecat Kuroo Tetsurou, Witch Kozume Kenma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-04-21
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:34:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23760154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neenswrites/pseuds/neenswrites
Summary: “Did Kuroo never tell you what a red ring means?”“I honestly doubt he knows himself.”“Typical.”-Or, Kuroo and Kenma have been making a lot of assumptions.
Relationships: Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou
Series: red rings [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1710052
Comments: 27
Kudos: 460
Collections: Kuroken Week 2020, Recommended KuroKen Fics





	they would be as in love with you as i am

**Author's Note:**

> FIRST AND FOREMOST BIG THX TO [CHRISTY](https://twitter.com/kodzukuro) FOR BETAing THIS FOR ME. my eyes were about to melt, and she turned this fic into a literal masterpiece i owe my her my life
> 
> AND ITS A DAY LATE BUT ITS HERE MY FINALLY POST FOR KUROKEN WEEK
> 
> i'm honestly really sad this is over - i had so much fun with these prompts, and tried so many new things, and met some incredible people, and i was honestly a little reluctant to post this bc it means its over
> 
> BUT things must end for new and better things to come, and i look forward to seeing what things are in the future for all of us!

“You know, when I gave you that spell, these weren’t quite the circumstances I anticipated you using it.”

Kenma snorted from his place on Akaashi’s couch as he brought his mug closer to his face. He wasn’t even really craving tea, but the feeling of its warmth was enough to help calm Kenma down.

“Sorry, would you prefer if I leave and come back a bruised and bloody mess?” Kenma replied as he tracked Akaashi with his eyes. He was fussing over something in the kitchen, and Kenma didn’t have the heart to tell him that he wasn’t planning on eating a single thing.

“You mean in exchange for the sobbing, crying mess that you were?” Akaashi asked loftily, and Kenma inhaled sharply. He lowered his eyes to look at his tea, and he heard Akaashi sigh.

But he wasn’t wrong. The moment Kenma had felt his feet land on Akaashi’s welcome mat, he couldn’t hold back from sobbing hysterically. And he wished he could blame it on the travel between realms, but both he and Akaashi knew better than that. 

“I’m sorry,” Akaashi said, and Kenma looked up to see him standing above him with a bowl. “That wasn’t fair of me to bring up right now.”

“It’s fine,” he mumbled as he took the bowl from Akaashi. He opened his mouth to tell him he wasn’t hungry, but his growling stomach cut him off. He sighed and began picking at the ramen.

“It’s not,” Akaashi said as he settled onto the couch next to him. “I’m angry right now, but not at you, and it isn’t fair of me to take it out on you.”

Kenma ate silently for a moment, wondering how angry Akaashi would be if he spoke his mind. 

“If you tell me I shouldn’t be angry at Kuroo either, I will kick you off of this couch.”

“I can’t control who you’re angry with,” Kenma said around a mouthful of food as he poked at an egg a couple of times. “…it just might not be fair.”

“Of course it’s fair,” Akaashi said with a huff. “Kuroo spends all his time with you, always hangs all over you, asks you to pretend to be his soulmate – all without considering what it could do to you.”

“I do have a mind of my own, thanks,” Kenma replied with a roll of his eyes. “Kuroo would have backed off if I ever said the word. I just never did.”

“Then you should have said the word,” Akaashi mumbled into his own mug of tea. 

“Thank you for the observation, Keiji,” Kenma replied flatly. “What good it’ll do me at this present moment.”

“I know, I know, I’m sorry,” Akaashi said with a sigh. “I keep picking fights and I truly don’t mean to.”

“I didn’t come here to fight with you,” Kenma said. “I came here because you were the only other person who I trust to see me like this.”

“And it’s because I’m seeing you like this that I’m so upset,” Akaashi said gently. “I’ve seen you torn up about Kuroo before, but it’s never been this bad, Kenma. And you still haven’t even begun to tell me what happened.”

“If I tell you, you can’t speak up until the very end,” Kenma said pointedly. Akaashi frowned, causing Kenma to sigh. “You can say whatever you want at the end – just please wait until I finish.”

Akaashi nodded and Kenma began talking. He told Akaashi about how Kuroo had come up with the idea of being soulmates to trick his mother. He told him about agreeing after hearing Kuroo explain his reason and going through the pains of making the potion. He told him about meeting Kuroo’s friends, and how they all seemed to know him already. He told him about Yaku, and about how he figured Kenma out in a moment of minutes; about how he panicked at the thought and ran out of the room. About how he began crying. How hopeless he had felt. How heartbroken he’d been. How Kuroo had come after him. How he ran away.

Kenma wasn’t used to speaking for such a long period of time, and by the time he was finished, he felt all the emotions he’d been trying to avoid came flooding back. He didn’t think he was in danger of crying, but the hollowness of his chest was its own special kind of pain. 

“And that’s all you did?” Akaashi asked once Kenma had finished relaying the events of the day. Kenma looked at him quizzically, head tilted to the side. “After all he put you through, you simply left after telling him to stay and continue the situation that started this mess?”

“What would you have rather me do, Keiji?” Kenma asked exasperatedly. Akaashi opened his mouth, and Kenma grimaced. “Actually, no, you don’t have to answer that.”

Akaashi snorted. “Well I suppose it’s better that way. I could not begin to understand the mindset of two fools who are constantly tempting fate.”

“I wouldn’t say we’re tempting fate,” Kenma said as he placed his empty bowl on the coffee table. “It was a bit reckless, but I don’t think faking a soul mark is as dramatic as all that.”

“I meant how the two of you are practically begging for tragedy to strike,” Akaashi said dryly. “I know you never want to talk about it, but I truly think Kuroo having a red ring has made you become rather rash.”

“What does Kuroo’s ring being red have to do with anything?” Kenma asked as he scrunched his nose. Akaashi gave him a look of horror, and Kenma felt himself go cold. “Keiji, what are you talking about?”

“Did Kuroo never tell you what a red ring means?” Akaashi asked, disbelief laced through his voice to match the expression on his face. 

Kenma thought back to all the times Kuroo had mentioned it before. He’d said that his clan members had never seen one before and that his mother had always stressed its importance, but he never mentioned anything particularly special about it. 

“I honestly doubt he knows himself,” Kenma replied as he slowly shook his head. Akaashi snorted. 

“Typical.”

“Well as some who does clearly know, would you like to share?” Kenma asked pointedly. 

Akaashi sighed and pulled both his legs up onto the couch. 

“If Kuroo really doesn’t know what it means, then I may owe him an apology for the way I treated him,” Akaashi started with a rueful smile. “The thing is that red rings are difficult to find information about not only because they’re so rare, but because the soul bonds formed from them are so varied.”

“From what there is written on them, red rings have resulted in a variety of scenarios, such as learning of your soulmate after they’ve died, multiple soulmates, severed soul bonds, and,” and Akaashi paused to shoot Kenma a quick glance, “Unrequited soulmates.”

Kenma's breath caught in his throat.

“While not all cases are equally dramatic, there is some level of difficulty and even danger that usually happens with red rings – and not just to their soulmate. It can be anyone they become too close with,” Akaashi said. He brought his mug closer to his face and trained his eyes on its rim and as quietly finished, “I truly thought you already knew this. Both of you. I thought he was actively putting you at risk without a care. I shouldn’t have assumed and overstepped as I did.”

Kenma turned to fully look at Akaashi. 

“You were just worried, I always knew that,” Kenma said gently. He bit his lip before continuing, “But Keiji…how do you know all this?”

“There’s someone in my life who’s had the equivalent of a red ring, and a foreboding prophecy hanging over his head for the past couple of years,” he admitted bitterly. Kenma blinked. He’d never heard Akaashi mention anything like this before. “I’ve tried all sorts of things to try helping, but I haven’t been very lucky.”

“If you ever need any help, you can always count on me,” Kenma assured. He wasn’t completely sure what he was getting himself into, but it was the least he could offer. Akaashi had been struggling with this for years, and Kenma hadn’t even noticed.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Akaashi replied with a soft smile. He took a sip from his mug before levelling Kenma with a sharp stare. “But now you know the truth. What are you going to do?”

Kenma had been thinking about this since Akaashi explained the meaning of Kuroo’s ring. But as much as he may want to overthink it, the fact remained that he still may not be Kuroo’s soulmate in any capacity. 

People without soulmates existed, and just because Kuroo had an ominous ring around his finger didn’t mean that he was the one connected to Kuroo.

 _But, oh_ , this would break Kuroo’s heart once he found out about it. 

Kenma felt his heart drop. Kuroo, the huge romantic dork who had been dreaming about the day he would finally get to meet and cherish his soulmate, would be absolutely devastated by this news. He’d find a way to blame himself, and would internalize all kinds of awful thoughts.

But it wasn’t his fault. Kuroo had to know that. He had to know how incredible he was, and how amazing he made Kenma feel about himself, and how lucky anyone would be to be loved by him.

_Oh._

“I’m going to tell him,” Kenma said shakily. He turned to Akaashi with wide eyes and repeated, “I’m going to tell him. I’m going to tell Kuroo I’m in love with him.”

Akaashi, for his credit, didn’t even flinch at the statement.

“Right now?”

“No,” Kenma hesitated for a moment. “I’m still going to avoid him for a little bit first.”

-

_Kuroo knows he’s not technically supposed to be out of his realm, but it’s not like he went very far. He’s gone a few times now, and he’s never had any issues. He just slinks around the forest, checks out some of the yards of the humans, and leaves right after._

_His family doesn’t know, and he always finds something interesting._

_Plus, if he had stayed put as everyone told him too, he never would have met the human following him._

_And he’s such a cool human! Kuroo is pretty sure he’s a witch. He doesn’t know a lot about them, but based on the way the guy is speaking and making flowers bloom, he’s pretty sure that he counts._

_And the flowers are so pretty! He’s caught between wanting to admire them for how pretty they all are and a desire to pounce on each one that pops up just to prove that he can. It causes him to move a little awkwardly, and after one particularly strange jump, he hears laughter behind it._

_Kuroo turns his head to look at the boy, and blinks at the smile on his face. He finds that he really likes it._

_In that instant, Kuroo makes a sharp turn. He hadn’t been sure before, but now he knows he wants to show this to the boy. If Kuroo’s dumb jumping makes him laugh like that, then his home tree will completely blow him away._

_He turns back to hear loud rustling as the boy pushes his way through the greenery, and stumbles into the small clearing around the tree. Kuroo feels smug as he looks at the boy’s awe-inspired expression, until the boy just keeps staring._

_Kuroo huffs. He’s here too!_

_He comes to sit in front of the boy, paws at the ground in front of him, and even lets out a small meow, but still, he stays transfixed on the tree. It isn’t until he butts his head against his leg that the boy finally looks down at him._

_“Oh, you’re here,” he says and Kuroo wishes he could scowl. Of course, he’s here, he’s the one who led him! He’s sour mood is quickly interrupted by the scratches he gets under his chin, and he feels himself purr involuntarily. “This is a really pretty tree.”_

_Kuroo would try and find a way to show his thanks, but he’s enjoying this too much. He peaks his eyes open to look at the boy but is instead distracted by his hand._

_His mother has told him that the rings he and she have are exclusively for werecats. But he can’t help but be curious and check for himself. He paws at the boy’s hand, trying to pull it down so he can see, but then he’s twisting his hand in turn and reaching for Kuroo’s paw. Kuroo’s left paw._

_Kuroo reacts before he can even think._

_He swings his claw blindly and lets out a warning snarl as he jumps away from the boy._

_He’s snapped out of his anger when he hears the boy yelp and grasp at the skin of his arm. There are tears in his eyes, and he’s looking at Kuroo like he’s terrified of him, and he doesn’t know what to do._

_He tries to take a step towards him to comfort him, curl up in his lap the way he knows his grandmother likes, but the boy is running away as soon as he moves._

_Kuroo meows as loud as he can, but the boy doesn’t return. He wants to go after him, but he figures he’d just scare him even more. Maybe if he changed back?_

_Kuroo closes his eyes and tries to focus on concentrating on his human form, but every time he tries to clear his mind all he can think about is the boy’s frightened face. He sees the way his eyes watered, the way his lip quivered, the arm he was sure was now bleeding._

_Kuroo lets out a long, sad meow before he can even try to hold it back and rests his head on his paws. He’ll go back home later._

_Maybe the boy will come back._

-

Kuroo rolled over in his bed and groaned for the 15th time that morning. He had the worst night ever. Once his mother left – after ripping her son’s heart out and crushing it under her foot – Kuroo had been left to field questions left and right about both her and Kenma.

He’d been forced to stay up later talking to everyone, and once he let it slip that his mother would not be stopping by anymore, everyone turned the night into a celebration. And that was pretty much the last thing Kuroo wanted to do after everything that had happened, but he had been dragged into it since they were celebrating for him.

But that meant he hadn’t been able to get home until late. And he’d been trying to get home since the moment Kenma had left. Because once he got home, he’d be able to sleep. And once he could sleep, he'd be able to see Kenma. But he did manage to get home eventually, and he promptly knocked out.

But imagine his surprise when he woke up eight hours later after a regular, old dream without a trace of his best friend.

Which meant that Kenma was avoiding him.

Kuroo groaned once again.

“Oh, for the love of God, Kuroo just shut the fuck up.”

And his clanmates were absolutely no help. 

“Leave me alone, Yaku,” Kuroo yelled out. It wasn’t his fault that their bedrooms were right next to each other. If Yaku didn’t want to deal with his wallowing, then he could move to the living room. Kuroo needed his time of brooding. 

And the thing was, Kuroo wasn’t upset that Kenma avoiding him. If Kenma wanted space from Kuroo then that was fine. It was possible to avoid each other when they dreamed together, so if Kenma would have turned him away he would’ve understood. 

But Kenma was going through such lengths that he was messing up his sleeping schedule now. The witch barely got enough sleep as it was, and he had already looked a bit tired when Kuroo had seen him the day before. 

Kuroo was making his best friend ruin his health after taking him to an event that had resulted in Kenma being reduced to tears. Maybe Akaashi had been right about not being good for Kenma.

Kuroo groaned again.

He rolled over onto his back, prepared to bring his pillow up and scream into, when the smell of grilled mackerel wafted into the room. Kuroo sniffed again and sat up in his bed. 

Part of him knew that this was probably a ploy by Kai and Yaku to drag him out of his room. But as Kuroo’s mouth watered, he couldn’t bring himself to care.

He got up from his bed and began to drag himself toward the living room. 

“Oh, thank god, I could not take any more of your angsting,” Yaku said as Kuroo walked in. “If this didn’t work, I was going to break into your room and drag you out myself.”

“So good to know that you have my best interests in heart,” Kuroo said as he leaned over the kitchen bar to look at where Kai was cooking the fish. He looked the man dead in the eyes as he said, “Let’s kick Yaku out. There’d be less food to share and an extra bedroom.”

Kuroo was completely unprepared for the kick that came to the back of his knees, and he nearly collapsed at the impact.

“Yeah after all the very loud moping you did all morning, you don’t get to make any roommate complaints,” Yaku snarked as he came up beside Kuroo.

“I can’t believe you would kick a man when he’s already down.”

“Yaku wouldn’t be my first choice for comfort – that’s usually a soulmate’s responsibility,” Kai said, finally speaking up. He turned the fish over in the pan, and Kuroo felt himself lean closer until Kai’s words registered. Then he froze. “Where is your soulmate anyway? Or better yet, why aren't you with him now like you usually are every day.”

Kuroo swallowed nervously and watched Kai scoop some rice and vegetables on a plate. He was holding it away from Kuroo, practically keeping it hostage. 

“Or could it be that your fake soulmate plan backfired more than you anticipated?”

Kuroo gaped at Kai as he placed the fish on the plate. He slid the plate over to Kuroo with a small apologetic smile.

“You knew!” Kuroo exclaimed. 

“Yeah, Kuroo, it was pretty much the worst plan ever,” Yaku said as he took the second plate Kai made.

“You knew too?” Kuroo said, whipping to look at Yaku. “You both knew, and you let me go through with it anyway?”

“It’s not like we cared who your soulmate was or when you find them,” Yaku said with a shrug as he began making his way to the living room. Kuroo followed after him in shock. 

“We figured we’d give you the opportunity to try things out with your mom,” Kai said with a shrug as he entered in after them with a plate of his own. 

Kuroo grimaced the memory of his mother. It apparently did not go unnoticed.

“If I can ask,” Kai started carefully. “What exactly did happen with your mother?”

Kuroo began to groan, but a glare from Yaku cut the noise short. He instead began retelling the entire awful ordeal to them. Once he got to the point about soulmates, he lowered his gaze to the ground.

“And it’s not like she’s wrong you know, I do have a soulmate who’s waiting for me out there,” Kuroo said sadly. “And up until last night I was willing to do anything for them. But now...with Kenma...I just don’t know anymore.”

Silence met Kuroo as he finished, and he looked up to see Kai and Yaku looking at him in surprise. 

“What?”

“Nothing,” Kai said quickly. At Kuroo’s skeptical look, he repeated, “It really is nothing. It’s just…”

“We never thought we’d hear you of all people talking like this about your soulmate,” Yaku filled in. “Kenma must mean a lot to you.”

Kuroo swallowed. 

“Well what do you think?” Kuroo asked nervously before clearing his throat. “About what my mom said about me and my soulmate and all?”

Yaku and Kai exchanged looks, and then they both shrugged.

“I mean, neither of us have one either,” Yakue reminded him. “It doesn’t sound like you want to find whoever it is.”

“Many people regard having a soulmate as a gift,” Kai said consideringly. He looked at Kuroo gently. “That doesn’t mean that’s inherently true, but I think it does mean you should probably consider them.”

“Why don’t you try finding them?” Yaku said as he took a sip of his drink. “Find them, tell them about the situation, and see if you can’t work something out.”

Kuroo looked at him incredulously. 

“Don’t you think if I knew who to find my soulmate, I’d do that already.”

“No, because you think there’s a ‘right time’, or whatever,” Yaku said with air quotes. Kuroo narrowed his eyes but didn’t protest. Yaku wasn’t wrong, after all. 

“Well, even if I wanted to, I don’t know how to just find them,” Kuroo said as he collapsed against the couch. Yaku tapped his chopsticks against his plate with a long look at Kuroo, and then sighed. 

“Lev’s been bragging about having the contact information about a witch who specializes in soul bond,” Yaku admitted with a sigh. “I’m sure if you texted him about it, he’d be more than happy to overshare about it.”

Kuroo raised his eyebrows. His mother had always been adamantly against interacting with any soul bond witches, stating that they were a scam at best and harmful at worst. Kuroo had just kinda taken that from his mother as truth, but it wasn’t like she was known for giving the best advice.

He pulled out his phone and sent a text to Lev about it. He immediately grimaced at the onslaught of texts he got in return.

“Yeah, Lev has that effect.”

Kuroo ignored Yaku, bringing his phone up to his face to look more closely at the blurry picture Lev had sent him. It was clearly supposed to be a business card, but he couldn’t quite make out the name. 

He was only able to make out the twin images of a pairs of foxes. 

-

_Kuroo feels like someone just violently tossed his entire body through the air. He’s groggy and confused and it takes him a second to realize he’s dreaming._

_But to be fair his dreams aren’t usually so…vivid? He usually isn’t so aware. It’s like one second he’s getting yelled at by his mother for allowing his emotions to get him stuck in his cat form, and the next he’s stumbling into a dream more vivid than he’s ever had in his life._

_And it’s the shock of this that causes him to delay his notice of the boy sitting in front of._

_But once he does notice, it only takes him a moment to recognize him._

_“Wait a minute!” Kuroo says happily, pointing to the boy. “I know you!”_

_He’s not sure why he’s here, but he’s so happy that he has the opportunity to apologize to him. However, the boy just looks at him in confusion._

_“You do?”_

_“Yeah, yeah,” Kuroo says, hoping to jog the stranger’s memory. “You’re the kid who was following me today after I snuck into that human’s garden.”_

_The boy scrunches his nose at him, and Kuroo has to fight to hold back laughter at the expression. Not that he understands why he makes it. This had just happened earlier today, there is no way the boy could have forgotten him already._

_Except for the fact that the boy only ever saw him as a cat._

_Kuroo’s eyes widen and he realizes the boy’s own expression means he’s come to a similar conclusion._

_Oh, no, this is not how he wanted to tell him about being a werecat!_

_He watches as the boy glances down to his arm, and Kuroo’s eyes follow his to see three parallel scratches panning the length of his arm. Three scratches that Kuroo himself caused._

_He feels so much worse being able to see them now. He hadn’t known how badly he scratched him before, relying solely on instinct, and now he can see that he’d definitely drawn blood._

_He opens his mouth to apologize, to ask how his scratch is, to explain himself, to say anything really. But the moment he moves his lips, the other boy is jumping to his feet and stepping away from him._

_Kuroo feels his face fall. “Wait, no—”_

_“You scratched me,” the boy says, and he sounds so scared of him that Kuroo wants to cry. “You scratched me really bad.”_

_“I didn’t mean to,” Kuroo starts to stay as he tries to get closer to the boy. However, the moment he takes a single step, the boy tenses all over._

_Kuroo is expecting him to run a second before he does._

_What he doesn’t expect is his entire body’s response of tackling the boy. He knows he doesn’t want him to leave and just does the first thing that comes to mind to stop him from doing so._

_But even then, he realizes this isn’t his best idea. The boy immediately begins kicking and screaming, and Kuroo just wants to calm him down._

_“Look I just want to say I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, okay?” Kuroo says, but he’s not sure the boy is listening. “I’ll get off, I will, I just don’t want you to think I really meant to hurt you.”_

_“Why are you in my dream?” The boy yells._

_And the boy sounds so scared, and frustrated, and confused, and Kuroo wants to say anything to get him to stop._

_“It’s because I scratched you,” he shouts, and then suddenly the boy stills. Kuroo blinks rapidly as he turns to look at him, and even though he still looks a little scared, Kuroo can see the curiosity in his eyes. It’s so much better than any other way he’s looked at him, and Kuroo wants to keep it like that._

_“We’re sharing the dream because I scratched you,” Kuroo finds himself saying. He isn’t sure why he is, but it makes sense to him. “You’re a witch, right?”_

_He has to be, what with the way he was making those flowers appear earlier._

_“Yeah,” the boy says slowly, never taking his eyes off Kuroo. “I’m learning to be one, at least.”_

_“So, then that’s why,” Kuroo says resolutely. It all makes sense to him. “I scratched you by accident, and you’re magic, so now we share dreams.”_

_A beat of silence._

_“Okay,” the boy said timidly. He turns his head to look back down at the grass. “ Can you please get off of me now?”_

_“Oh, right, sorry,” Kuroo says as he practically jumps off the boy. He sits a little bit away from him, and as the boy rights himself, Kuroo asks: “So, what’s your name? My name is Kuroo.”_

_“…Kenma,” he replies cautiously. His name is Kenma! It’s such a nice name. He’s so enamored thinking about it, he almost misses when Kenma asks, “Does this happen to you a lot?”_

_Why on earth would Kenma think that? Does he think that Kuroo just goes around scratching witches?_

_“Nope,” Kuroo replies with a tilt of his head. “I’ve never even met anyone who wasn’t a werecat until today.”_

_“Then how are you being so calm about this?” Kenma asks, and Kuroo blinks in surprise._

_“I mean, this is really cool, right? It’s like we’re dream friends or something,” he replies. And then he realizes that maybe Kenma doesn’t want this at all. Oh, he probably doesn’t – he didn’t ask to be scratched or anything like that. “I mean, unless you don’t want to be.”_

_“We can be friends,” he hears Kenma say softly, and Kuroo can’t help the way his entire face lights up._

_“Really? You really want to?” he asks just to make sure, and when Kenma nods he smiles even wider. “Great! What do friends do?”_

_Kenma blinks slowly at Kuroo as he furrows his brow. “I don’t know. I’ve never had one before.”_

_“I haven’t either, not really at least,” Kuroo says with a shrug. “But that just means we can do whatever we want, right?”_

_“…yeah,” Kenma says and for the first time since he’s been in the dream, he smiles._

_It’s the best thing ever._

_“But wait,” Kuroo says as he realizes something. “We can’t just be dream friends. There are like levels. We have to be real friends first before we become dream friends.”_

_Kenma squints at Kuroo. “Huh?”_

_“Let’s meet in person tomorrow!” Kuroo explains as he claps his hand. “This way we can be friends here and in real life too!”_

_Kenma barely has a chance to nod before Kuroo is explaining the way to get back to the tree. He wants to offer to meet him like he had earlier that day, but his mom was still upset with him, and he doesn’t want to push it by straying too far._

_Afterwards, Kuroo wakes up and realizes that he’s still smiling._

_-_

Kuroo stood outside the establishment with a skeptical look on his face. He’d been surprised when he’d looked up the location for the shop and found that it was the same city as Kenma. Surprised, but not one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

But this place looked absolutely nothing like Kenma’s shop. There were no bricks on the outside, no large window to look into, no plants hanging all around the storefront. The entire place almost blended into the surrounding buildings and the door was tall and looming. Not to mention the sign.

Kuroo looked up at the large words again.

He thought it was fair to have his doubts about a place called, ‘Miya Miya – Soulmate Consultation and Gourmet Onigiri’. But he didn’t really have any other options. 

With a deep breath, Kuroo pushed in the door to the store, and was immediately overwhelmed with the scent of roses. He covered his nose and looked around the store. The inside of the shop was even more different than Kenma’s. There were very few herbs and plants, and way more crystals everywhere. There were matching tables all around, and two chairs at each one. There were bright lights all across the ceiling, and overall the place felt less cluttered and colder to Kuroo.

And there was also a floor to ceiling fridge full of onigiri.

Kuroo heard the sound of footsteps and turned his head toward an entryway behind the front counter. A man walked out with a smile on his face, but as soon as he saw Kuroo it dropped. 

“Get out.”

Kuroo reeled back, completely taken aback.

“Uh…”

“No, I said get out,” the man said again, waving his hand at Kuroo. “I’m not dealing with another one of you.”

“What do you have against me – is it because I’m a werecat?”

“‘Is it because I’m a werecat’,” the other man mocked in a nasally voice, and Kuroo gaped at him. “Honestly, do you think I’m an idiot?”

And Kuroo remained silent because he didn’t want to offend the guy further. The man squinted his eyes at him.

“Okay, so you think you’re funny,” he replied, and his eyes gleamed dangerously. Kuroo raised his hands in defense.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Kuroo said slowly. “I was just given this card—”

“Listen, man, you’re not going to get to me,” the man interrupted as he moved to lean against the counter. “Just go back to your soulmate and tell them I was the real deal.”

“My _what_?”

And Kuroo hadn’t meant to yell, but this entire visit had him on edge, and he had no idea why Lev had recommended this guy to him. Or better yet, why he had listened to someone like Lev in the first place.

“Your soulmate,” the guy repeated in a bored tone. “You know, the one who probably sent you to do this to test if I can actually read your bond.”

Kuroo shook his head in disbelief.

“I haven’t found my soulmate,” he said carefully.

The man froze.

“You’re serious,” he said. Kuroo shrugged helplessly and he came up to stand even closer. “Like you’re really serious right now? Like if I give you a truth potion – which I am not above doing – you’d still be giving me the same answer?”

“Yes,” Kuroo stressed, not sure how else to convince this guy into helping him. “Yes, that is what I’ve _been_ saying.”

“Well then you have come to the best place, my friend,” he replied, a smile stretching across his face, and personality doing a near 180 from what it had been before. 

“Right,” Kuroo said, feeling completely lost as to everything that had just occurred. “So, you are Miya Osamu then?”

“Ha! No,” the man said with a sharp smile. “I’m Atsumu. The better twin”

“There are two of you,” Kuroo blurted out before he could think.

“Yes, but enough about me,” Atsumu said with a wave of his hand. He led Kuroo to one of the small tables to the side, gesturing for him to sit. “Let’s talk about you.”

“Wait, no, not enough about you,” Kuroo replied, though he did take a seat. Atsumu shot him an annoyed glare, and Kuroo rolled his eyes. “I literally don’t know anything about you. I just got a referral from my friend with no context.”

“Miya Atsumu, soul bond specialist, eligible bachelor, and best witch this side of the world,” Atsumu listed off. Kuroo opened his mouth to disagree with him, but Atsumu cut him off with a pointed look. “Now tell me about yourself. Name, and why you’re here.”

“I’m trying to find my soulmate,” Kuroo said with a helpless shrug. “I hadn’t really cared about trying to find them before – I just kind of figured it would happen when it was meant to. But now,” Kuroo sighed, and turned his gaze to the side. “Now, some things have come up, and I need to find whoever it is as soon as possible.” Kuroo hesitated for a moment before adding “Oh, and my name is Kuroo.”

“I’m going to be real with you, Kuroo,” Astumu said seriously. “I have been studying soul bond magic for the past 6 years. And in that time, I’ve been able to figure out if someone has ever met their soulmate from just looking at ‘em. It doesn’t matter how little they’ve been in contact, if they’ve met them just once, I can tell.”

“You can?” Kuroo asked as his heart started beating more rapidly in his chest. “Is that why you thought I already knew mine?”

Atsumu studied Kuroo intently, and Kuroo felt the urge to fidget in his seat.

“When I see soul bonds, it isn’t like I see a chain linking two people,” Atsumu started slowly. “It’s more like you’ve been touched. Like a little part of you starts to shine. And the more you’ve come in contact with your soulmate, the more of you shines.”

Atsumu paused, and his eyes seemed to trail all over him.

“Kuroo…you’re practically glowing.”

Kuroo felt all the breath rush out of him.

“But-what, how does that—”

“When you walked in, I thought you were someone trying to test if I was legitimate,” Atsumu continued over Kuroo’s stuttering. “The reason I thought that was because you shine so much all over that I thought you’d met your soulmate years ago.”

Kuroo gaped at the man in front of him, and he gave a little guilty shrug. 

“And because you look suspicious as fuck.”

Kuroo tried to laugh, he’d heard the same thing before multiple times, but he couldn’t seem to put his effort into it with the whole ‘he’s met his soulmate multiple times’ thing running through his head. He felt his heart race start to increase and tried drumming his fingers just to have something to do.

Atsumu zoned in on his hand. 

“What is that?” he asked through gritted teeth. Kuroo glanced down at the red ring around his finger.

“Oh, it’s like a guarantee, I guess you could call it,” Kuroo said as he turned his hand to show Atsumu more fully. “All werecats who have a soulmate have one.” Kuroo squinted his eyes at the other man. “Isn’t that something you should know already?”

“I know what it is!” Atsumu snapped. “What I want to know is why the hell you didn’t lead with that!”

“I thought it was a given!” Kuroo exclaimed. “Of course, I’d have a ring if I was trying to find my soulmate!”

“That’s not just a ring, it’s a red ring!” Atsumu replied. Kuroo stared at him in confusion. 

“So, what? It’s just a color.”

Atsumu gave Kuroo an incredibly exasperated look. 

“No it’s not, Kuroo,” Atsumu sighed. Kuroo straightened his back a bit, not sure how to take the news. “You really don’t know?”

Kuroo shook his head slowly, and he felt dread creep up his throat at Atsumu’s grimace.

“Well, it’s honestly probably for the best you didn’t know,” he began to explain. “There are a lot of misconceptions around red rings. Yeah, there are soulmates who get it and end tragically, but there are also plenty of soulmates who end up happy together.”

“I’m sorry, did you just say _tragedy?_ ” Kuroo interrupted. Atsumu shot him a nasty glare, but Kuroo didn’t even flinch. “What do you mean by tragedy?”

“The usual, unrequited, early death, never meeting, unable to be together, you name it,” Atsumu listed uninterestedly, seemingly unaware of Kuroo’s increasingly paling face. “But that’s not what’s important here.”

Kuroo shot him a completely disbelieving look.

“What’s important about the red ring is the fact that it does guarantee something,” Atsumu continued. “It guarantees that you’ll never know for sure who your soulmate is. There are ways to narrow it down and make some pretty smart choices, but the soul identifiers that come from them are always completely different from each other, so it’s near impossible to tell if two people are connected because of soul bond or just some strange stroke of magic.”

“But Kuroo, like I said before, you’re shining everywhere,” Atsumu continued with a squint. “You have to have some idea of who your soulmate could be.”

And based only off what Atsumu had said, there were only a couple of people it could be. It could be pretty much anyone from his clan, Yaku, or Kai, or Yamamoto, or even _Lev,_ for how affectionate the guy was. It could be any of his other friends that he met as he got older and started exploring the human realm more like Daichi or Tsukishima. But there’s only one person who Kuroo kept going back to.

“I have someone I want it to be,” Kuroo settled with a sigh. “He’s the reason I came here, actually. I wanted you to help me find my soulmate, because I wanted to see if they’d be okay with keeping it platonic or something.”

“Well now you know it could be him,” Atsumu said, and Kuroo couldn’t stop the way his heart soared at hearing the words. “Why don’t you go find him now?”

And Kuroo immediately deflated.

“Well he’s avoiding me, for one,” Kuroo said with a sigh. “Like extreme avoiding. As in changing his sleeping schedule to avoid me.”

Atsumu blinked. “Why would he need to change his sleep schedule to avoid you?”

“Oh, we share dreams is all,” Kuroo said with a wave of his hand. “But it doesn’t work unless we’re sleeping at the same time and he’s been—”

“You what!” Atsumu yelled, cutting Kuroo off. “You share dreams with the guy?”

“Yeah we have since we were kids,” Kuroo said defensively. “Why are you yelling at me about this?”

A beat of silence. 

“Kuroo,” Atsumu said slowly. “What’s _your_ explanation for the dream sharing?” 

“Oh, when we were kids, I accidentally scratched him,” Kuroo said with a shrug. 

Atsumu continued to stare at Kuroo expectantly, and Kuroo darted his eyes from side to side. 

“That’s it?” Atsusmu asked. “That’s the entire reason you think the two of you are able to share dreams.”

“Yeah, why?”

Atsumu didn’t respond. He pulled out his cell phone and began scrolling through it without a single glance to Kuroo. Kuroo opened his mouth to complain, but Atsumu raised a single finger to silence him. 

Kuroo blinked at the appendage. 

Before he could call him out for being an asshole, Atsumu was placing his phone on the table between them. It was calling someone, and it was on speaker.

“Another witch friend of mine,” he offered with a plasticky smile.

The phone clicked, and the person on the other end sighed heavily.

“Why are you calling me?”

“Always a pleasure to speak to you, Yahaba,” Atsumu said in response. “I just have two quick questions to ask you, if you don’t mind.”

“You’re going to ask them anyway.”

“First question,” he replied, and the voice on the other side groaned. “How many times has, Kyoutani, your adorable werecat of a boyfriend, scratched you?”

As he stated Kyoutani’s status of werecat, Atsumu looked up at Kuroo pointedly. He found himself leaning in closer to listen.

“Like, on purpose?”

They both blanched.

“In cat form,” Atsumu amended with a sigh. 

“Oh, countless times, you know that.”

“Great, thank you,” Atsumu said. “And how many times have the two of you shared dreams together?”

“Um, literally never, _what the fuck_?”

“Thank you, you’ve been a great service.”

Atsumu hung up then, and then stared directly at Kuroo.

Not that Kuroo noticed. He was too busy reeling over the revelation he'd just made. Because he’d spent the past 13 years of his life believing something that was very obviously not true. Had built the best friendship of his life around the fact, and now was being told that it couldn’t be true. 

But then how did they even come to that conclusion?

And then he was remembering a frantic seven-year-old version of himself. He was remembering seeing a small boy in his dreams, the same small boy he had scratched in a panic, and desperately wanting to apologize to him. He was remembering wanting to say anything to get him to calm down and saying the first thing that made sense to his child mind.

The boy had been a witch. He was magic. It made sense to him then that his scratch must’ve been the reason they were in that situation.

He hadn’t known what else it could be. And he never once thought to question it, after all these years. Sharing dreams had just become second nature to him.

“Are you saying…” Kuroo started, his voice rougher than it's ever sounded in his life. “Are you saying that he’s…that Kenma is…”

Kuroo’s phone vibrated, and he was reaching for it before he could even think. There on the screen was a notification from Kenma, asking if he could meet him to talk.

“The thing is,” Atsumu started, his voice soft for the first time of the whole meeting. “Even if I do think he is, with situations like yours, you’re never going to know for sure. Maybe there is some outlier reason why you and this Kenma of yours share dreams. Maybe he isn’t the one for you, and you’re just looking for a reason for him to be.”

Kuroo looked up to Atsumu from his phone, face completely blank.

“But Kuroo, even if that was true, it’s okay if you don’t know,” Atsumu continued. “These things don’t have to be cold cut. If he’s who you want, then be with who you want. It’s as simple as that.”

And Kuroo knew that he was right. There was no shame in not knowing. But looking down at the message he’d been hoping for all day, he didn’t think it applied to him. 

“Thank you,” Kuroo said, smiling for the first time since meeting Atsumu. “But don’t worry. I know.”

It was crystal clear to him who his soulmate was.

-

_Kuroo can’t stop smiling at Kenma. Part of him worries that it might be freaking his new friend out, but he hasn’t said anything about it yet, so he feels free to continue._

_“I still can’t believe you found your way back all by yourself,” Kuroo exclaims as he tilts around Kenma to see the way he came._

_“You gave good directions,” Kenma replies, and Kuroo beams in response. “I was sort of hoping the flowers would still be there from yesterday…”_

_Kuroo widens his eyes at Kenma._

_“Wait, you were doing that to follow them?” Kuroo asks, leaning in closer to Kenma. He leans back in response, but Kuroo is unperturbed. “That’s incredible!”_

_“It’s not,” Kenma says as he ducks his head. “It’s just a basic little spell. I can’t do anything that cool.”_

_“I can’t even do any magic!” Kuroo says with a sigh. “There are people in the clan who can, but I can’t at all. But you’re like my age and you can already do it by yourself!”_

_“You don’t know how old I am,” Kenma says with a pout, and Kuroo laughs in delight._

_“You’re right! How old are you, Kenma?”_

_Kenma answers this, and pretty much every other question Kuroo comes up with. The sun is beginning to set lower in the sky by the time Kuroo learns that Kenma often stays at his grandmother’s house because his mom is a very busy witch, that he loves baked goods but hates baking, that he wants to get good at magic, but doesn’t understand a lot of how his family explains it to him, and that his favorite color is red._

_Kenma pauses when he says the last bit, and he frowns as if he regrets saying it._

_Kuroo speaks up immediately. “I like red, too!”_

_Kenma looks at Kuroo in surprise, but then he smiles the biggest smile Kuroo’s ever seen._

_Kuroo feels like he’s glowing._

_When Kenma says it’s time for him to go, Kuroo feels sad, but this also means he can finally check what he’s been to see for the past couple of hours._

_The moment Kenma disappears between the trees, Kuroo runs toward the trunk of the big cedar, through his realm, to his house, and all the way to his room. He closes and locks the door behind him, and then starts looking all over his body for any new kind of marks._

_He’s heard before that when you get your soul mark you feel it. Some say it’s a tickle, other’s say it’s a burn, but everyone agrees you feel something against your skin on the spot the soul mark appears on._

_Kuroo hadn’t felt anything like talking to Kenma, but he knows that he has to be his soulmate. He didn’t feel a sting or a tickle, but he’s so happy around his new friend that he doesn’t know what else it could possibly mean besides that Kenma is his soulmate._

_But no matter where, and how closely he looks, he can’t find a single soul mark anywhere on his body._

_He collapses on his bed in defeat, and feels his bottom lip begin to quiver. He can’t imagine a single person in the whole world who would be better for him than Kenma._

_Kuroo never thinks to check if scratching a witch actually does lead to shared dreams._

-

Kenma twisted his phone in his hands as he eyed the clock on the wall. 

He knew he was early, and that Kuroo wouldn’t likely be here for another 15 minutes, but he couldn’t think of anything else to do but wait in the backroom of his shop where he told Kuroo to meet him. 

He tried playing on his phone, but he kept losing his game because he was too busy thinking about where Kuroo was. He couldn’t try making any potions, because if he made a mistake because he was so distracted, he could blow himself up. He attempted brainstorming some new spells, but nothing was coming to mind other than all the different reactions Kuroo could have to his confession. 

So, he just twisted his phone in his hands, and wished he could will his clock to turn faster.

A minute later, there was knocking on the backdoor of the room.

Kenma looked back at it with wide eyes. Kuroo had arrived early too.

He opened the door, and his breath caught in his throat at the sight of his best friend. It had only been a day, so it was ridiculous that he had missed him so much. Still, Kenma wished very badly to dive into Kuroo’s arms.

Instead, he moved to the side to let him in.

“First of all, are you feeling better?” Kuroo asked as he entered the room and turned to look at Kenma. Kenma nodded, but kept his eyes trained on the floor. He heard Kuroo sigh. “Good. I still wish you’d talk to me about it…but that’s not what we need to talk about right now.”

Kenma looked up to him in shock. “How do you know what we need to talk about right now? I’m the one who asked you to come over to talk.”

“Yeah, but I found something out that I need to tell you,” Kuroo said as he raised his left hand up. Kenma paled. “Something I found out about what my red rings means.”

And Kenma knew he couldn’t let Kuroo continue with everything he knew about the red ring hanging over him.

“So, Kenma—”

“Kuro, I need to speak first.”

Kuroo raised his eyebrows at the interruption, but Kenma remained firm. 

“Listen Kenma, any other time I would be happy to let you speak first—”

“I’m not backing down on this.”

“I just have something _really_ important—”

“Kuro, I really need to say this,” Kenma said seriously. “And if I don’t say it now, I’m not sure if I’ll be able to say it later.”

Kuroo huffed, but finally stayed silent. Kenma took a steadying breath and looked Kuroo directly in the eye.

“Kuroo Tetsurou, I have known you for 13 years,” he started, and his heart was already beginning to race. Kuroo’s eyes widened at the sound of his full name, but other than that he remained still. “You’ve been my best friend in all that time, and have seen me at some of my lowest moments.”

“But for the past couple of years, there have been some lows you haven’t seen,” Kenma continued. His hands were starting to shake, so he grabbed the end of his shirt in an attempt to still them. “It’s part of the reason that Akaashi doesn’t like you. Because I started going to him during those times, and he started blaming you for how I was feeling. Because he knew about the red ring, and thought that you did too.”

“But how was I feeling was never your fault,” Kenma said with a sigh. “I mean not in the way that he thought. I guess it is a little your fault that I’m in love with you.”

And there, he’s said it. Kuroo’s looking down at him with a completely unreadable expression, but at least Kenma said it. Except, now that he’s said it, it’s like he can’t stop.

“But it really is kind of your fault,” Kenma continued, his words coming more quickly. “I mean what else was I supposed to do? You’ve been there for me every time I’ve needed you, you’ve always respected my boundaries and never pushed me for more, and you talk about me like you actually think I can do anything. You’ve always made me feel like I was someone special – how was I not supposed to fall in love with you?”

“But Kuroo, I understand that you have a soulmate,” Kenma said with a final deep breath. “And I know from just how you’ve treated me that you’re going to be incredible to them. Just like they’ll be for you. And I’d never ask you to do something to jeopardize that for you. So, I’m not asking you to be with me, but I feel like you deserve to know that someone loves you – it’s the least I can do for all you’ve done for me.”

Kenma took a deep breath as he finished. He wanted to look away from Kuroo’s slack jawed face, but for some reason he couldn’t tear his eyes away from him. He knew better than to try and hope for something, but he couldn’t quite completely stomp down on the emotion.

“Kenma, I don’t…” Kuroo started, and Kenma felt his heart plummet. It must be written all over his face, because Kuroo’s eyes went wide. “No, no, poor choice of words, I was just going to say I don’t even know where to begin.”

If Kuroo had meant for that to be comforting, it’s not.

“Ugh, why am I so bad at this,” Kuroo groaned, before letting out a heavy sigh. He shook his head roughly and looked down at Kenma with a determined look on his eyes. “Kenma, the first day I met you, I searched my entire body for a soul mark.”

Kenma’s jaw dropped, and he looked at Kuroo in complete shock.

“I was so disappointed when I couldn’t find one, because even then I knew that you were something special,” Kuroo continued. “But now I know that I wasn’t wrong, and that you’re the only person I want to spend the rest of my life with.”

Kenma began shaking his head slowly, unable to believe what was coming out of Kuroo’s mouth. “Kuro, what about your soul—”

“The scratch thing was bullshit, I made it up when I was a kid because I was scared and didn’t want you to hate me,” Kuroo said in one breath. Kenma blinked rapidly at the stream of words but furrowed his brows once they registered. “And I went to talk to a soul bond witch, but honestly I could’ve figured this out without him.”

Kuroo grabbed Kenma by both of his hands and pulled them to his chest, and over his heart. The action forced Kenma to move closer towards him, but it certainly wasn’t unwelcomed. 

“He thought we shared dreams because that’s our form of a soul bond,” Kuroo said softly, and Kenma’s heart stopped. “And the thing is there’s no real way for us to know if that’s true. But Kenma, I know you. I knew who you were as a child, who you are as an adult, and will be here to know who you’ll become as you get older. I know you, and I love everything about you that I know. I love you.”

“And because I know you, and because I love you, I know that it is you,” Kuroo practically whispered. “You’re my soulmate Kenma. It couldn’t be anyone else.”

Kenma opened his mouth, but he couldn’t find the right words to say. His heart was overflowing from joy and excitement and love, and he could barely contain it all. He just wanted to listen to Kuroo speak for forever. So, he simply asked, “Say it again, please?”

Kuroo smiled, soft and overwhelming tender, and he brought Kenma’s hands to his lips.

“I love you.”

He pulled Kenma even closer until they were chest to chest and pressed his lips to his forehead.

“I love you.”

Kenma tilted his face up, and Kuroo dragged his lips down his nose and across his cheeks.

“I love you.”

Kenma brought both his hands up to catch Kuroo’s face. He looked into his eyes for a long moment before whispering, “One more time?”

“I love you.”

And then Kenma was kissing Kuroo with all he had. He pressed his fingers against Kuroo’s face and shut his eyes as he felt Kuroo crush him against his body, and he willed any and all tears away. He broke apart from him just to lean back in and kiss Kuroo again and again and again, until he was practically dizzy from it. 

He pulled back, nearly gasping for breath, and Kuroo was staring down at him with eyes full of wonder. 

“I love you, too,” Kenma breathed, rubbing the apples of Kuroo’s cheeks with his thumb. “And I’ll choose you for as long as you choose me.”

Kuroo ducked low, mouthing his response against Kenma’s lips.

“Forever, then.”

“That’s a good start.”

**Author's Note:**

> I have a very long fic idea that's inspired by something I foreshadowed in this fic but I have literally NO IDEA when I'll start working on it. BUT i do have plans, and hope anyone who's enjoyed this series so far can look forward to that!
> 
> Kuroken week came and went so fast, but it was so fun! I’ll definitely be writing lots more for this fandom and ship, and thank to everyone who’s read anything of mine from the past week!!! It honestly means the world to me!!! I hope to write for you again soon!!!
> 
> pls feel free to come by my [twitter](https://twitter.com/neenswrites)  
> i love meeting new ppl and talking abt all things hq related


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